August 17, 2000

Is there such a thing as coincidence? According to 18-year-old Brandon Sufrin of Enfield, CT, the answer is a resounding no.  So what has happened in this young man's life that has made him such as expert on fate?  The answer is simple: a hockey tournament, a girl, a summer program and a second chance at life.

As a senior at Enfield High School, Brandon faced the same soul searching questions that seniors around the country were facing -- which college should he attend in the fall and what should he do with his life. Having struggled to pass his classes in high school, he looked at his future with a bleak desperation. "I guess I planned on spending the next year in a community college and working framing houses." For Brandon, these prospects were anything but enticing.

Then came the weekend that changed Brandon's life.  Last March, Brandon's hockey team, the New England Coyotes, traveled to a weekend tournament in Toronto.  Upon his arrival he realized, to his delight, that there was a large group of teenagers (including many girls) staying at his hotel.  That night, in the hotel lobby, he met a girl.  Instantly, they clicked.  It turned out that her group was there for a National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) regional convention.  For the next ten hours, Brandon and his new friend sat in the hotel lobby talking about Judaism and religion.  By morning, Brandon found himself with a new friend and a new desire to learn about Judaism.  He explains, "I used to attend synagogue once or twice a year with my grandfather.  I have always wanted to learn more about my religion -- not to necessarily become more religious, just to know what it was all about." 

Before leaving the hotel that weekend, his new friend's advisor approached him and asked him if he wanted to put on tefillin that morning.  His hockey coach, who was standing a few feet away said, "Go ahead, expand your mind."

After removing the tefillin, he was asked what he was doing for the summer.

Brandon explains, "I didn't really have any plans.  I had considered going to visit my brother in Montana, but other than that I figured I would just frame houses.  When this rabbi told me about a trip to Israel I figured, why not, and asked him to send me the information."

Four months later, Brandon now finds himself in Israel on NCSY's The Jerusalem Journey (TJJ) program with a whole new outlook on life.  A few weeks into the program, one of its directors, Steve Burg, realized that Brandon had never had a bar mitzvah and asked him if he would like to celebrate one on TJJ.  Brandon jumped at the opportunity and, a few weeks ago, recited the blessings over the Torah for the first time.  After the service Brandon spoke before his new friends and advisors.  His message was simple, "My views on coincidence have changed. I mean, my life was changed because I met this girl in Toronto.  Every person I meet I try to see why I'm meeting them, what they have added to my life or me to theirs."

When his summer program ends, Brandon will begin a year of Torah study at Aish Hatorah in Jerusalem.  Brandon explains, "I think Aish will be a really good experience for me.  It will help me to figure out what I'm about. Before, I wasn't happy about school, about my job, about how I felt.  Now I can't wait to get to each new step of my life." When asked what his family thought of the change in his life plans, Brandon explained, "I spoke to my mom four times since I've been in Israel.  The first time I told her I would be staying here she yelled and cried, the second time she just cried, the third time she asked me lots of questions, the last time she asked me what I needed.  The hardest part of this year will be leaving my mom. I'm not abandoning her, I just think that I need to do what is right for me right now." Brandon said that what he wants his friends and other people to know is that he hasn't been brainwashed by this program.  "This has been the best experience of my life.  Judaism is actually cool.  It's all about loving everyone.  How can you not want to learn how to love everybody?  My counselors are not guilty of pushing anything on me, they are only guilty of being the best role models I've ever had and of guiding me by their example."

The Jerusalem Journey is a four-week comprehensive co-educational summer tour of Israel designed specifically for young people who wish to increase their understanding of their cultural heritage and intensify their identification with the Land of Israel.  The program is open to Jewish teens, boys and girls, of high school age who attend public school.  In summer 2000, there were 92 participants on the program.  For information on next year's program, call: 1-888-TOUR-4-YOU.

Since it was founded in 1954, NCSY has pioneered the Jewish outreach movement and today is the world's largest Jewish youth program.  With chapters in 39 states, 215 communities across the nation and 3 Canadian provinces, NCSY reaches 40,000 boys and girls annually by offering 750 major educational events and programs and 10 summer camps - in the U.S., Israel and the Ukraine.